I don’t have a hookup with DirecTV, so I had to wait for the series to come out on DVD to be able to watch it, that and a span of a couple of weeks to find the time. For me, it started slowly but gradually caught my attention, and I ended up watching the last two episodes in one evening (last night).

The star of the series is without a doubt Thandie Newton, who plays Grace Travis, a black police officer from the San Jose Police Department who has been working undercover for the Oakland police to get the goods on Jimmy Laszlo (Marton Csokas), a local crime boss controlling the waterfront area. But obsessed with finding out who killed her young son in what was written off as a tragic but accidental drive-by shooting, she finds herself getting deeper and deeper into a complicated plot of greed, revenge, mob killings and more, alienating her own family while getting closer and closer to the man she is supposed to be bringing down.

It takes all ten episodes for the entire story line to work its way through, and naturally there is plenty of violence to go along with it, some of shockingly graphic. And perhaps equally naturally not everyone in the cast survives to the end, some a lot sooner than viewers might expect, including this one. There is also, given the freedom of not being seen on broadcast TV, quite a few almost as graphic sex scenes.

The setting, mostly in around the Oakland waterfront (but probably filmed in Canada) and the seedier sections of that particular town, is beautifully filmed, and the plot has enough twists and turns to keep everyone’s minds constantly in high gear.

The largest downside is the level of the actors’ performances. I found them uneven, to say it mildly, from actor and actor, and even in the case of some of the players, from scene to scene. Some of the dialogue is awkward and clunky, though, and tough to bring off convincingly, so the actors don’t deserve all of the blame.

Thandie Newton carries the show well, however. The character she plays is both tough and vulnerable, and she is placed in any number of situations in which she can show off how she tries to deal with them, and believe me, she gets into quite a few scrapes and narrow escapes. It would be a strenuous role for anyone, especially the vulnerability Newton’s character has to display, as mentioned above, and I think she nails it. I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part.

The series deserved a second season, and it got one. It’s playing now but will end its run this week.

4 Responses to “A TV Series Review: ROGUE, Season One (2013).”

Hi, having just finished watching the last 3 episodes of Season 1, I have to say this show really impressed and is very very good. The actors including the lead villain, are more credible than this review suggests – in real life people are more flawed and flaky and less eloquent than ideal fictional characters, and they are not there as entertainers. The close-ups of Jimmy and Grace in painful emotional scenes are especially well acted and filmed. The machiavellian figure in the background causing chaos was predictable but the twist of the killer’s identity was very cleverly presented with no obvious warning and completely credible. Overall, for me this is a 5 star series that gets better and better. Recommended.

Thanks for the comment, Peter. I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for anyone to say anything about this review. It must be because very few people have caught up to the existence of the series. Their loss. It’s remarkable how many scenes came back to me right away, after not having reason to think about the show much at all in the meantime. That’s the definition of memorable right there!

Great series whilst Thandie Newton is in it. Shame Westworld and Line of Duty tied up her schedule, would have loved to see more. so despite watching the first 3 seasons, only Season One is a keeper for me, sure others will disagree, so if youve read the review above and comments here – and not seen the show, give season one a go!

I have not kept up with this series, I am sorry to say. I am both pleased and surprised that a fourth and probably final season started this past March. Thandie Newton was a regular on Seasons 1-2, I have discovered, and was “recurring” in Season 3. T enjoyed Season One, so thanks for the reminder to check out the rest of the run.